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Edmonton Oilers do the ol’ tighten up against the Blues, still lose 2-1 on cusp of trade deadlinehttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/28/edmonton-oilers-do-the-ol-tighten-up-against-the-blues-lose-2-1-on-cusp-of-trade-deadline/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/28/edmonton-oilers-do-the-ol-tighten-up-against-the-blues-lose-2-1-on-cusp-of-trade-deadline/#commentsSun, 01 Mar 2015 06:36:50 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=215407Rexall Place can seem like hockey’s back of the beyond, the NHL’s forlorn gulag when it’s late in the season and the games are more meaningful when they’re losses, some believe, than when they’re victories.

Yet again this season, at …

]]>Rexall Place can seem like hockey’s back of the beyond, the NHL’s forlorn gulag when it’s late in the season and the games are more meaningful when they’re losses, some believe, than when they’re victories.

Yet again this season, at least to the outside world, the Oilers are a relevant NHL club only because of the imminent trade of two-way defenceman Jeff Petry before the Monday deadline, and the team’s placing in the final standings as it relates to the draft in June.

And yet, and yet. There the Oilers were on Saturday night, playing things even-steven with the St. Louis Blues, one of those hard, heavy, excellent teams that too often have their way with the Edmonton club.

Yes, they lost, a 2-1 defeat courtesy of a nifty solo effort in the third period by Paul Stastny, who shifted past Oilers defenceman Mark Fayne before spading a backhander through the legs of Ben Scrivens, who played another strong game and deserved a better fate. For those who think that deserve has anything to do with it.

“I liked the way our guys played tonight, I thought both teams played a strong game.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win, or get some points.” — Oilers head coach Todd Nelson

Given the lopsided recent Oilers history against St. Louis — they had won four of their last 20 games against the Blues, dating back six seasons — the way Edmonton played was encouraging, actually.

“It’s (part of) the same trend,” said Oilers captain Andrew Ference. “If you look at the last 10 games, or whatever it is, (we) have definitely maintained that trend of not forcing it.

“Definitely having more guys swarm and help each other out. That team, especially, that’s one thing you really, really need, with the way they forecheck, with their size and their ability to create mistakes. For the most part it was (solid). We chipped it in, got some good retrievals, we didn’t have a horrible time on the breakout.

“There are always going to be turnovers because, like I said, they’re a very good team that force you into mistakes. But, all in all, it was a lot of that better stuff.”

By which Ference meant structurally sound, or something like it, at least.

These are not exactly baby steps the Oilers are making under Nelson, but they fall short of giant leaps. Outside of this hockey gulag, the improvement may be hard for others to discern.

Here’s someone who sees a tightening up of the Oilers play, Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock. Here’s what the Sherwood Park native had to say following the game:

“You get no inside ice now. You get no inside ice. They don’t chase tired. You get them in their zone and you keep possession, but they don’t chase. They leave you on the outside and it’s hard to get second and third chances. The chances we got were original chances, but if you look at the game I don’t think we had three second chances. It’s because they step on you. They keep you to the outside, they don’t overcommit and they don’t get caught with chasing contact so you might have possession but you’re not really accomplishing very much.”

That’s high cotton coming from a defence-first coach like Hitchcock.

Something else. That qualifies as progress for the Oilers, especially against the Blues, a team that outshot them 71-30 in the first two games the teams played this season both St. Louis victories. Take it for what it’s worth.

If GM Craig MacTavish had not devalued the term, you’d be tempted to suggest the Oilers are “visually better.” The players believe their collective play has improved. So there’s that.

“You’re always trying to clean up every mistake,” Ference said. “You accept the fact that there are going to be things that happen when you go against another NHL team that has the ability to create mistakes.

“If you play that same game over and over again, you hope that consistency brings you more success than not. And when you don’t have the success, you can live with it, because you played your game and you did what you could.”

To these eyes, the Oilers need not beat themselves up over this 2-1 loss.

And, with 19 games left this season, if they can consistently deliver a reasonable facsimile of this style of play, that may provide more than a shard of hope to the fan base.

Edmonton Journal hockey writers Jim Matheson and Joanne Ireland, and sports columnist John MacKinnon, talk with sports editor Craig Ellingson about the upcoming NHL trade deadline; what sorts of moves the Oilers might make in the near future on defence with Jeff Petry likely to be traded,; the play of goalie Ben Scrivens, who is ‘the man’ in net for the oilers down the stretch with Viktor Fasth out of the lineup due to a knee injury; and on the performance of interim head coach Todd Nelson and where he stands with Oilers management now and in the future — will he earn the permanent job in Edmonton?

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/28/edmonton-oilers-do-the-ol-tighten-up-against-the-blues-lose-2-1-on-cusp-of-trade-deadline/feed/0oil11.jpgrjmackinnonIs it time to shut Jeff Petry down before trade deadline?http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/22/is-it-time-to-shut-jeff-petry-down-before-trade-deadline/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/22/is-it-time-to-shut-jeff-petry-down-before-trade-deadline/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 01:25:12 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=215141With the Edmonton Oilers taking calls from Western and Eastern Conference teams on rental defenceman Jeff Petry, has he played his last game in orange and blue? The Oilers only have two games before the trade deadline March 2 at …]]>With the Edmonton Oilers taking calls from Western and Eastern Conference teams on rental defenceman Jeff Petry, has he played his last game in orange and blue? The Oilers only have two games before the trade deadline March 2 at 1 p.m. MDT–in Minnesota against Devan Dubnyk and the surging Wild Tuesday and at Rexall Place to St. Louis Feb. 28.
Petry is nursing ribs, so protect the asset, right, unless a long-term deal of at least four years for close to $5 mil a year comes out of the blue to keep him here?
As sources are saying “we’ve seen enough of Petry to know he can play…it’s not like the Oilers have to play him before the deadline.” The only hitch would be how healthy the unrestricted free-agent is for trade purposes but anybody interested in the 27-year-old defenceman will make sure of his medical condition before dealing for him.
It appears to be a day-to-day injury. He sat out Friday’s game against the Wild here, and Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Rexall with Anaheim in town. The Ducks are one of the teams looking for defence reinforcements if they don’t have to give up too much as are Montreal, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Tampa and the Rangers. Oiler GM Craig MacTavish wants a draft pick and young body for Petry who was injured against Boston Bruins this past Wednesday when hit by an Adam McQuaid shot. The two games he’s just missed are the only two for medical reasons this year.
The Habs are looking for a second-pairing D to play with Alexei Emelin in a shutdown situation. The Wings have liked Russian rookie Alexey Marchenko, 23, a right-handed D like Petry, but are looking for one more experienced hand. The Ducks, who have Sami Vatanen out at least a month with a leg injury, are in the same boat as Detroit, as is Pittsburgh which wants to upgrade its third pairing. Tampa is getting Matt Carle back from abdominal surgery but has lost Radko Gudas (right knee) for the season. The Rangers are looking for a partner for Dan Boyle.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/22/is-it-time-to-shut-jeff-petry-down-before-trade-deadline/feed/0nhlbymattyPetry with sore ribs won’t play against Duckshttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/21/petry-with-sore-ribs-wont-play-against-ducks/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/21/petry-with-sore-ribs-wont-play-against-ducks/#commentsSat, 21 Feb 2015 22:34:16 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=215115Jeff Petry, the hottest trade item on Edmonton Oilers, won’t play against the Anaheim Ducks–one of those teams looking for an experienced rental defenceman at the deadline.
Petry bruised his ribs when Adam McQuaid’s shot plunked him in the second …]]>Jeff Petry, the hottest trade item on Edmonton Oilers, won’t play against the Anaheim Ducks–one of those teams looking for an experienced rental defenceman at the deadline.
Petry bruised his ribs when Adam McQuaid’s shot plunked him in the second period of the Oilers shootout win over Boston Wednesday, and with Petry in play for a possible trade there’s no need to trot him out in case he gets hurt worse than he is now.
The Ducks, Montreal, Detroit and Pittsburgh are all looking for blueliners with the Habs maybe even more keen on Petry than anybody else, probably as a second-pairing shutdown guy with Alexei Emelin.
As expected farmhand Jordan Oesterle will get his first NHL action on the Oiler back-end, replacing Keith Aulie. He’ll play the offside with captain Andrew Ference as Oilers’ coach keeps his other two defence pairs–Justin Schultz and Oscar Klefbom; Mark Fayne and Martin Marincin–together against the Ducks, who blasted the Flames in Calgary 6-3 Friday night.
“I’m excited for Oesterle (pronounced Oh-stir-lay). He moves the puck well,” said Nelson, who coached him in OKC and had him playing most nights there with Craig Simpson’s boy Dillon.
“Elite skater, really good defensive stick. He gets great gaps on opposing players with his skating and he can get separation from a forecheck. I thought he might need to put on some weight (at the pro level) but his speed has allowed him to be effecient,” said his former college coach at Western Michigan Andy Murray.
Nelson will make one other lineup change, taking out winger Matt Fraser for Luke Gazdic.
“We’re playing a heavier team, so I’m getting Luke back in,” said Nelson.
Gazdic shaved off his long mane and his beard a few days back to raise money for Hair Massacure, for cancer research. Maybe he’ll be faster.
“He should be flying tonight. He’s very aerodynamic now,” kidded Nelson.
He’ll move his lines around, having Matt Hendricks centre for Ryan Hamilton and Iiro Pakarinen on a third line. Gazdic will play on the fourth with Boyd Gordon and Rob Klinkhammer. Benoit Pouliot, who started the 4-0 loss to the Wild Friday at centre on a third line, will play leftside with RNH and Jordan Eberle on the top unit, and Teddy Purcell will move back with Derek Roy and Nail Yakupov.
Ben Scrivens gets the start in goal, and while Ducks’ coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t reveal his starter, it’s expected to be rookie John Gibson who played in Calgary, not ex Oiler Ilya Bryzgalov. Anaheim’s No. 1 Fred Andersen is out with a sore neck after the goal got tipped over against Tampa Bay awhile back and it fell on him.
The Ducks, who are 10 points ahead of Vancouver for top spot in the Pacific Division, are missing winger Matt Beleskey, 21 goals, (shoulder) and defenceman Sami Vatanen, a key on their powerplay, (leg injury for several weeks.
The Oilers have lost both games to the Ducks this season (2-1 in Anaheim and 4-2 here) with Viktor Fasth (on IR now with a knee injury) starting both for the Oilers.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/02/21/petry-with-sore-ribs-wont-play-against-ducks/feed/0nhlbymattyWhen it comes to amateur scouting, he’s certainly no Green rookiehttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/20/when-it-comes-to-amateur-scouting-hes-certainly-no-green-rookie/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/20/when-it-comes-to-amateur-scouting-hes-certainly-no-green-rookie/#commentsTue, 20 Jan 2015 19:20:04 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213811Bob Green built the Edmonton Oil Kings into the best junior hockey team in the land, now he’ll be overseeing the amateur scouting for the Edmonton Oilers which, to be charitible, has fallen several stories short of building a foundation …]]>Bob Green built the Edmonton Oil Kings into the best junior hockey team in the land, now he’ll be overseeing the amateur scouting for the Edmonton Oilers which, to be charitible, has fallen several stories short of building a foundation for a successful NHL team with only one current player, defenceman Jeff Petry, in their lineup who was picked after the first round since 2006.
“I like this responsibility and I want to have a voice…I appreciate they are giving it to me,” said Green, who officially is the new director of player personnel, which means he’s in charge of the amateur and pro side of things and chief scout Stu MacGregor and head pro scout Morey Gare will report to Green now. Clearly, the amateur side of things, building through the draft, is of more importance in today’s landscape, with more than one outside observer saying “you can’t build a team one draft pick at a time, from early in the first round as the Oilers have done.”
Going into the June draft in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Panthers, the Oilers could have three picks in the top 35. They have a shot at first overall pick and generational centres Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) or Jack Eichel (Boston U) or at worst, one in the top four or five and a shot at Boston College defencman Noah Hanifin, Swedish defender Oliver Kylington or U of Michigan’s Zach Werenski, (defence should be a much higher priority than, say taking another winger) depending on how many games they win over the next 36.
They also have Pittsburgh’s pick in the David Perron trade earlier this month (somewhere between 23 and 30 most likely) plus an early second-rounder where frankly they’ve had very little success over the years. Apart from Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene in 2002 and Petry in 2006, the selections have been misses or had marginal success or the jury’s still out. Since 2000, here’s a sampling for their second-rounders: Brad Winchester, Doug Lynch, Ed Caron, Roman Tesliuk, Geoff Paukovich, Taylor Chorney, Jeff Deslauriers, Colin McDonald, Curtis Hamilton, Tyler Pitlick, Anton Lander, David Musil.
Green in concert with MacGregor and senior VP of hockey ops Scott Howson, who is now almost exclusively scouting juniors for this draft, will be a collective voice. Usually MacGregor is up on the stage with the first overall pick along with GM Craig MacTavish and Howson. Now, presumably Green will be there, too.
“The final say is always with the manager, he’s the one who takes responsibility for the picks,” said MacTavish, “but it’ll be a collaboration of information. Scott will be working hand in hand with Stu MacGregor and Bob Green from now until the end of the year. Everybody will having their input in terms of the plus and minuses of the character and size and the speed and skill of the players. As an organization, we will spit out the answer.”
Is Green’s hire a reflection on MacGregor’s work? “Stu has worked with Bob before (when he was Oil Kings’ GM) and he doesn’t have any issues working with Bob. I don’t get the sense that Stu is the least bit sensitive to this. He understands why we’re doing this and it’s part of the process,” said MacTavish. “We all have to be motivated to improve. We’re all under scrutiny and it’s not a time to be sensitive to change. We need better results. We have a good relationship with the scouts and they’re good people, but we need better results. We think a large part of that is from leadership.”
So they’re bringing Green on board. He was looking after U.S. college free-agent scouting last year, but he has dabbled in looking at juniors as well. “I came to have a good understanding and appreciation of how good an evaluator Bob is of talent. His track record at the junior side has given me enough confidence..I’ve sat beside him and watched games. He’s one of those guys who can smell a hockey player,” said MacTavish.
“We’ve got lots of manpower in the field, we’ve got the two first-round picks and the second-rounder will be another player we’ll have high expectations for,” said MacTavish, who didn’t discount using Pittsburgh draft slot (Perron deal) and a second-rounder to get a live body who can help now in a trade. “We’d be willing to make a deal to get a young player who is a little further along than an 18-year-old.” He likely tried with the Penguins, trying for one of their young D (Derick Pouliot or Scott Harrington) but was rebuffed.
“We should be able to get two core members from every draft, and we’re below that. By core members I mean top six fowards, top four defencemen, maybe a third-line centre and a goaltender. You have to draft with that philosophy,” said MacTavish.
“Our prospects at this time who are still amateurs (Darnell Nurse, Greg Chase, Kyle Platzer, William Lageson, the Swedish world junior D-man) look to be good prospects and our American League team is better. It’s a good amalgamation of young players and veterans and we talked about bringing in size a year and a half ago and we’re starting to see that (Bogdan Yakimov),” said MacTavish.
“But as I’ve said before, if we fail at the amateur side we all fail. We can’t make mistakes with our draft picks,” said MacTavish.
That’s an admission of guilt, of course, also a fact, judging by how few of their draft picks are on their team today compared to others like, say, Detroit, with 17.
“”We’re trying to provide better leadership for our scouts, we’ve brought in analytics to merge that with the field work the scouts do to ultimately have better players walking through our doors and more depth,” said MacTavish.
Green said the scouts will spend more time in their own geographical areas now, rather than crossing over to other leagues to see as many prospects as possible. Green feels it’s better that the area scouts get a deeper understanding of the players in their leagues, not just the obvious first-rounders. They need to find Brendan Gallagher type players, 147th selection by Montreal in 2010. A talented small player with tons of heart and a high, hockey IQ.
Green, like MacGregor, knows the primary job of any scout is to project how an 18-year-old will be three or four years down the road and what role he can play at the AHL or NHL level. But, they absolutely, have to find some diamonds in the rough to get better.
“As a scout, you are looking at the best players but you have to look for late bloomers, too,” admitted Green.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/20/when-it-comes-to-amateur-scouting-hes-certainly-no-green-rookie/feed/0nhlbymattyTaylor Hall’s body language before the shootout win didn’t look goodhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/17/taylor-halls-body-language-before-the-shootout-win-didnt-look-good/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/17/taylor-halls-body-language-before-the-shootout-win-didnt-look-good/#commentsSun, 18 Jan 2015 04:49:29 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213734Before Nail Yakupov, of all people, with the slings and arrows he’s taken, won it for the Edmonton Oilers in the shootout Saturday in Florida, Taylor Hall had a frustrating first 65 minutes. He had two third period penalties one …]]>Before Nail Yakupov, of all people, with the slings and arrows he’s taken, won it for the Edmonton Oilers in the shootout Saturday in Florida, Taylor Hall had a frustrating first 65 minutes. He had two third period penalties one a reach-in hook along the boards that was a little ticky-tacky but had to be called because the Oilers had had four powerplays to none for Florida, the other a hard slash that broke a stick.
He was also on the ice for Jonathan Huberdeau’s second period goalmouth tap-in, and on several powerplays he looked discombobulated. He couldn’t get anything going, either with a pass or a shot, skating slowly to the bench a few times after failing to make anything happen.
On the whole, it one of those nights Hall can shove aside because the Oilers actually won a road game for the first time in 69 days but a game that might still be sticking his craw.
Fortunately, Matt Hendricks bailed him out on the first penalty when he scored a shortie after some good work by Mark Fayne and Boyd Gordon, with Hendricks getting his sixth of the season with a goal-scorer’s shot past Roberto Luongo. The fourth Oiler shortie this season, one of the few bright spots. The Islanders and Jets lead with seven, but the Oilers with their four (Hendricks, Jesse Joensuu, Benoit Pouliot and Gordon) are ahead of 18 teams in that category.
On his second one, a ripping slash that broke the oppposing players’ stick in half, he had a skate of shame to the box in a 2-2 game. Ågain, the Oilers PK came up big.
“Our powerplay had some good looks but we couldn’t finish…Nuge (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) had a great chance on the 5-on-3 (Willie Mitchell spun and tipped it and it went high),” said Oiler coach Todd Nelson, “but our PK was outstanding. Great play by Mark Fayne stepping up, moving it to Boyd and he made a great pass and he finished it off.”
The Oilers penalty kill also stopped Florida with two minutes left after Ånton Lander got caught. The PK is actually respectable (19th), and on the road its eighth.
On the whole, the Oilers got very good netminding from Viktor Fasth (35 saves), apart from the flutterball Erik Gudbranson shot that fooled him in the second. He battled Luongo, and came out ahead. The PK saved them in the third when they rallied to win a game for the first time in 24 tries after being behind after 40 minutes. Jordan Eberle was dangerous, but Hall, who had Luongo dead to rights in the shootout but appeared to hit the iron after Luongo may have gotten a piece of the attempt, struggled otherwise. He was forcing things and didn’t look happy, at all. Until the last shootout save by Fasth.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/17/taylor-halls-body-language-before-the-shootout-win-didnt-look-good/feed/0nhlbymattyViktor Fasth gets rare start in net for Oilers against Panthershttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/17/viktor-fasth-gets-rare-start-in-net-for-oilers-against-panthers/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/17/viktor-fasth-gets-rare-start-in-net-for-oilers-against-panthers/#commentsSat, 17 Jan 2015 18:26:15 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213724Little known, and odd commentary on the Edmonton Oilers’ trainwreck season: Goalie Viktor Fasth hasn’t won a home game and partner Ben Scrivens hasn’t won a road game and we’re 45 games deep into an 82-game season.
Fasth, who will …]]>Little known, and odd commentary on the Edmonton Oilers’ trainwreck season: Goalie Viktor Fasth hasn’t won a home game and partner Ben Scrivens hasn’t won a road game and we’re 45 games deep into an 82-game season.
Fasth, who will start against the Florida Panthers Saturday night, has the only two Oilers’ wins away from Rexall Place, but they were Nov. 7 in Buffalo and Nov. 9 in New York against the Rangers, so over two months ago. He’s 2-8 on the road, in all, with tough losses (Nashville 1-0 in OT and Anaheim 2-1) on his resume.
Scrivens is 0-11 on the road but he’s won eight games at Rexall Place.
This will be Fasth’s first game, home or away, since he lost 4-2 to Detroit at the Drugstore Jan. 6. He’s only had three starts in over a month as Scrivens has been carrying the mail.
“We wanted to give it to Ben and see where he could take it,” said Nelson. “The encouraging thing is Vik had a really strong outing his last game (Red Wings. Hopefully Vik has an oustanding game against the Panthers and we’ll see going forward.”
Fasth, UFA on July 1 and certainly in play to be traded if a team needs a backup or gets an injury, has played in only 13 games. Scrivens almost three times as many (34).
**
Nelson will continue to play Nikita Nikitin on defence with Mark Fayne, even though he’s had his troubles and Keith Aulie has been a healthy scratch for five games and is itching to play. “I don’t think he’s struggled that much actually. He’s moving his feet better than he has in the past. Maybe he was victimized in a couple of games but he’s pushing the play,” said Nelson.”It’s a big improvement from when he came back from injury (back).”
Defenceman Justin Schultz continues to be very lukewarm in his end, but there’s no thought of taking him out, although Nelson concedes he has to be more decisive on the puck-carrier–a familiar refrain from his coaches. Will he ever get there? This is his third season. “We’re constantly working on the intensity if he’s on a guy to where ‘do you have him or are you just there?”’ said Nelson. “There’s a difference. If you are marking a guy and the puck comes to that guy, he has to be ready to be assertive. It’s a mind-set. Even if Justin has a guy and the other guy is able to make a play, we consider that a loss.”
**
The Panthers beat the Oilers six days ago in Edmonton 4-2, and Roberto Luongo will get the start, moving past Jacques Plante into 11th place all-time in games played (838). This will be the 26th meeting between the teams and it’s 9-9-4 overall…Fort McMurray native Scottie Upshall has eight goals against the Oilers in 15 career games, and no assists for the Florida forward…This will be the 45th time Luongo has played the Oilers from his days with the Canucks. He’s 27-12-3.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/17/viktor-fasth-gets-rare-start-in-net-for-oilers-against-panthers/feed/0nhlbymattyTeddy Purcell has a homecoming against the Lightninghttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/15/teddy-purcell-has-a-homecoming-against-the-lightning/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/15/teddy-purcell-has-a-homecoming-against-the-lightning/#commentsThu, 15 Jan 2015 18:53:53 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213662Edmonton Oilers’ winger Teddy Purcell, who played over 300 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, will make his first trip back Thursday since he was traded for Sam Gagner late last June.
“Stammer (Steve Stamkos) and some of the guys …]]>Edmonton Oilers’ winger Teddy Purcell, who played over 300 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, will make his first trip back Thursday since he was traded for Sam Gagner late last June.
“Stammer (Steve Stamkos) and some of the guys took me out for lunch yesterday,” said Purcell. “Then Nelly (new coach Todd Nelson) took us out last night for a team dinner, kind of to introduce himself (away from the rink) and rack up a little bit on his (credit) card.”
“I dropped by my own place to see how (Tampa centre Brian) Boyle and his wife are doing, so there’s no holes in the walls or anything,” joked Purcell.
Purcell, making $4.5 million, was dealt for cap reasons, with Gagner coming to Tampa for about five minutes, then off-loaded to Arizona for a sixth-round draft and B.J. Crombeen. The Lightning are paying one-third of Gagner’s $5 million salary.
“Anytime you get traded, you rack your brain as to why, but it happened. I have a lot of respect for the Tampa organization and they’re having a good season. You look back and there could always be worse things (doubtful, with the Oilers in 30th spot). You have to embrace it,” said Purcell, who’ll be playing with Anton Lander and Matt Fraser Thursday.
“It was good to play them early in the season, in October, to get it (a game vs his old team) out of the way, but it’s the first time back here. Hopefully all the jitters will be out in the warmup, then when the puck’s dropped it’ll just be another game.”
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Benoit Pouliot knows the Oilers have to be ultra-careful against the Lightning speed. “They play a transition game like nobody else in the league. You can’t turn pucks over at the blueline. They’ll come back 100 miles an hour and make you pay,” said Pouliot, another onetime Lightning forward who was in Tampa for 34 games in 2012-2013 after Boston dealt him in June of 2012 for minor-league forward Michel Ouellet and a fifth-round draft pick they used to take Seth Griffith.
**
The Oilers surprisingly will go with Ben Scrivens for a fourth straight game, even though he’s given up eight goals the past two games in losses to Florida and St. Louis. Viktor Fasth, very strong against Detroit Jan. 6, will play against the Panthers Saturday. “Last game, Ben probably would have liked the first goal (Vladimir) Tarasenko back but he settled in after that. They had a lot of opportunities and Ben was there for us,” said Nelson…Fraser, scratched in St. Louis, will be back in with Luke Gazdic sitting along with ex Tampa D Keith Aulie. Nelson could have played Aulie against his own club, looking for an obvious jolt there, but will go with the same six D (Justin Schultz, Oscar Klefbom, Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry, Mark Fayne and Nikita Nikitin)…The Lighting won’t have their best D Victor Hedman (lower body), and the surprising centre Tyler Johnson is iffy (lower body). He was in a red practice jersey while everybody else was wearing blue Thursday morning. “Maybe it was just a fashion statement,” kidded the 5’9″, 183-pound Johnson, who has 46 points…Nelson and Tampa coach Jon Cooper were in the AHL together in OKC and Norfolk. “We were in first place one year and Jon’s team won 27 or 28 in a row and got past us,” said Nelson.
**
Nelson didn’t discount a checking line of Boyd Gordon, Matt Hendricks and Rob Klinhammer out against the Lightning’s top unit of Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. “Strong possibility,” said Nelson. Gordon missed Thursday’s practice, but will be at his usual stand, taking a ton of defensive zone draws. Gordon’s face-off percentage if 56.3, eighth best in the league. He’s taken 742 draws, about 75 percent of them in his own end.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/15/teddy-purcell-has-a-homecoming-against-the-lightning/feed/0nhlbymattyLuke Gazdic draws in for the Blues game and Matt Fraser’s outhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/13/luke-gazdic-draws-in-for-the-blues-game-and-matt-frasers-out/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/13/luke-gazdic-draws-in-for-the-blues-game-and-matt-frasers-out/#commentsTue, 13 Jan 2015 19:39:49 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213565Just when it appeared Luke Gazdic was only a cheerleader–gimme an O, gimme an I, gimme an L–the big winger will be back in the Edmonton Oilers’ lineup against the St. Louis Blues.
Gazdic, who had only played twice in …]]>Just when it appeared Luke Gazdic was only a cheerleader–gimme an O, gimme an I, gimme an L–the big winger will be back in the Edmonton Oilers’ lineup against the St. Louis Blues.
Gazdic, who had only played twice in the past month with farm call-up Steve Pinizzoto, then trade acquistion Rob Klinkhammer, taking his fourth-line spot, will be in and Matt Fraser out for the big Blues. He’ll play with Boyd Gordon and Matt Hendricks, while Klinkhammer moves up and takes Fraser’s spot alongside Anton Lander and Teddy Purcell. Fraser had played seven in a row after the Oilers got him off waivers from the Bruins.
Gazdic likes being a bodyguard, one of the two or three best at getting his hands dirty, but like all players of his ilk he’s dying to escape the stereotype that he’s just a fighter. There is no scorer aching to be let out, but Gazdic, who played 11 straight after coming back from a conditioning stint in OKC (shoulder rehab), then sat for nine of the next 11, doesn’t want to be known as a one-trick pony. He certainly watched Calgary’s tough guy Brian McGrattan clear waivers and hike to the AHL at 33, and knows NHL teams are clearing out fighters who can’t be in a four-line rotation and getting seven to 10 minutes a night. But he feels he’s got more to offer; the Blues should be a good test with their bulk.
“It’s been an up-and-down year trying to find a spot in the lineup,” said Gazdic, who played 67 games last year before his right shoulder gave out on him and he needed surgery last spring. “I can play here on a regular-basis. I’ve shown that over the last year and a half. I’m excited to be out there against St. Louis. Big, heavy team.”
“I’m confident in my game. I can do more than just be a tough guy in this league. I can skate. I can get in on the forecheck and get pucks out. The things that help guys play in the league for a number of years,” said Gazdic, who will be playing his 81st NHL game Tuesday.
Gazdic has certainly paid attention to McGrattan’s situation in Calgary. “I’ve followed that. There’s a couple now. I guess (Tom) Sestito out in Vancouver and McGrattan was the next to go. He (McGrattan) has played a number of years and fell out of the lineup in Calgary. I’m sure he’ll be back in the NHL with somebody,” said Gazdic.
He loves the work McGrattan does, and he’s able and willing to do the same thing, but knows the NHL is weeding out the heavyweights. “He’s improved his game the last couple of years and shown he can be a guy who can play every day but Calgary’s played so well and they ran out of room for him,” said Gazdic. “I don’t mind being lumped into that category (fighters) but every situation is different. The one thing I have over him, on my side, is my age. I’m eight years younger and just starting to break in.”
Todd Nelson had Gazdic down in OKC for a couple of weeks when he was coaching the AHL club, and saw him score twice while down there.”It’s a new coach (NHL), a chance to show Todd I can be an every night player, not just spotted against tough teams,” said Gazdic.
Nelson wants Gazdic to, as the cliche goes, keep it simple against the Blues. Long-term, he knows Gazdic has to add other layers to his game. “He has to improve his puck management like everybody,” said Nelson.
The line of Gordon, Hendricks and Klinkhammer has been very effective the last couple of weeks, but he’s giving Klinkhammer some candy, at least on paper, playing him with Purcell and Lander, an offensive threat, at least in the minors. “They’ve (Gordon and Co.) been a really good line for us and it hasn’t mattered which line we’ve had them up against,” said Nelson. “But against St. Louis we wanted heavier bodies so Luke’s in. And Klinkhammer’s going up with Anton. Hopefully his speed will be create something for Anton and Teddy.”
**
Ben Scrivens, outstanding in a 4-3 OT loss here in late November, will get another start for the Oilers with Viktor Fasth either going in Tampa or against the Panthers. Same defence, which means Keith Aulie stays out…Fraser’s ice-time has fluctuated between a high of 14:37 (Colorado) and 9:51 (Detroit). He has two goals in his seven games…The Blues will go with Jake Allen in net, his first start since Dec. 27. Brian Elliott (1.95 average, .928 save percentage), who missed a chunk of action with a bad knee which necessitated the signing of Marty Brodeur six weeks ago, will back up. Brodeur remains on the roster but isn’t dressing. He’s played once in the past six games, and been a healthy scratch in the others. “He’s something else, though. You see him (winningest goalie of all-time) picking up the pucks (after practice). He’s improving my French too,” kidded Blues’ goalie coach Jim Corsi…The Blues have five multiple-goal guys–Vladimir Tarasenko (23), David Backes and Jaden Schwartz (14), Alex Steen (12) and T.J. Oshie (11). They also have the highest-scoring D-man in the league, Kevin Shattenkirk (34 points)…Canadian Olympic defenceman Alex Pietrangelo is having an off-year by his standards. On a team solidly plus, he’s minus 5. Tied for worst on the team.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/13/luke-gazdic-draws-in-for-the-blues-game-and-matt-frasers-out/feed/0nhlbymattyWith heavyweight Brian McGrattan clearing waivers in Calgary, what about Luke Gazdic’s role here?http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/12/with-heavyweight-brian-mcgrattan-clearing-waivers-in-calgary-what-about-luke-gazdics-role-here/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/12/with-heavyweight-brian-mcgrattan-clearing-waivers-in-calgary-what-about-luke-gazdics-role-here/#commentsMon, 12 Jan 2015 18:30:18 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213495When Brian McGrattan, arguably the best beat cop in the National Hockey League but seldom employed in Calgary, cleared waivers the other day and was assigned to the AHL, Flames’ GM Brad Treliving said “you either adapt or you die.”…]]>When Brian McGrattan, arguably the best beat cop in the National Hockey League but seldom employed in Calgary, cleared waivers the other day and was assigned to the AHL, Flames’ GM Brad Treliving said “you either adapt or you die.”
Treliving, who had Paul Bissonnette in Arizona when he was Don Maloney’s right-hand man, also values McGrattan’s willingness to watch his teammates’ back, also his leadership in the room, but NHL teams are almost exclusively rolling four lines now, and there’s little room for guys who might only get five minutes, seven or eight shifts a night.
Same story here with Luke Gazdic, who is eight years younger and just as willing as McGrattan to defend his teammates, but barely plays. He has only dressed in two of the last 11 Edmonton Oiler games–against Arizona Dec. 23 and in Colorado Jan. 2. He’s averaged 7:02 in the 13 games he’s played since getting the green light to get back on the ice after his right shoulder was repaired last spring, so more work than last year when he averaged 5:48 in 67 games. But, he’s a cheerleader these days, from 100 feet away in the pressbox.
How long can the Oilers keep a player as an extra forward, who doesn’t play? Maybe a long while because Gazdic, even with his lack of activity, might not clear waivers at his age and they don’t want to risk losing him for nothing. But the hard-skating, hard-hitting 214-pound Rob Klinkhammer seems a fixture on a line with Boyd Gordon and Matt Hendricks since Craig MacTavish got him from Pittsburgh as an add-on in the David Perron (first-round 2015 draft) deal. He had 10 hits against Chicago Friday night and six more against Florida Panthers Sunday night.
That leaves Gazdic out in the cold, unfortunately. He’s a smart kid who knows the score; he has to improve his all-around game to play more; there is little room for enforcers in today’s NHL, give or take San Jose Sharks, who went out and signed the 6’8″ John Scott this summer when they already had light-heavy Mike Brown, a far better skating, better player.
Gazdic,25, can get up and down the ice, and he can shoot off the wing. He’s worked hard to get pucks out of his end defensively, and work on cycles along the boards. The 6’4″, 233 pound left-winger is likeable and also very popular in the Oiler room, also very tough (maybe the second best heavy after McGrattan), but he’s not playing.
Klinkhammer has also taken Tyler Pitlick’s spot as a banger, with Pitlick, once again having to battle back from a bad injury, this time a lacerated spleen in a collision with Calgary’s Lance Bouma. With Gordon and Hendricks, it might actually be the third line not the fourth in coach Todd Nelson’s makeup because of the line’s abrasive, hard-skating nature.
Gazdic did play 11 straight games from Nov. 25 through Dec. 16, from a low of 3:42 (in Dallas) to 10:21 (at St. Louis) in late November after coming off his shoulder rehab, but again, only twice in the last month.
Unless somebody gets hurt or the new head knock behind the bench Nelson, sees an opponent with more muscle than he’s got, Gazdic will sit as McGrattan sat. It’s an uncomfortable feeling for Gazdic, who has some game outside of an affinity for defending people, but can’t get in one.
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The OKC Barons have the best record in the AHL, 9-1 in their last 10 games and goalie Richard Bachman coming off back-to-back shutouts is the Player of the Week in the AHL.]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/12/with-heavyweight-brian-mcgrattan-clearing-waivers-in-calgary-what-about-luke-gazdics-role-here/feed/0nhlbymattyRyan Nugent-Hopkins off to the all-star gamehttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/10/ryan-nugent-hopkins-off-to-the-all-star-game/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/10/ryan-nugent-hopkins-off-to-the-all-star-game/#commentsSat, 10 Jan 2015 23:47:52 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=213447After locking horns with foes Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Getzlaf for far too long, Edmonton Oilers’ centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins may find himself on their side at the NHL’s all-star game in Columbus January 25.
RNH will be the …]]>After locking horns with foes Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Getzlaf for far too long, Edmonton Oilers’ centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins may find himself on their side at the NHL’s all-star game in Columbus January 25.
RNH will be the Edmonton Oilers’ rep in the mid-season affair, the first time he’s ever been selected; every team has to be represented and the two captains, as yet unannounced, will pick the lineups for the two teams, independent of what conference they play in. It’s the first all-star game since 2012 because of the lockout in 2013 and the Olympics in Sochi last winter.
The last Oiler in the game was Nugent-Hopkins’ linemate Jordan Eberle in 2011 in Ottawa. Ales Hemsky was picked in 2010 for the game in Carolina but was hurt and didn’t play. Sheldon Souray (2009), Shawn Horcoff (2008), Ryan Smyth (2007) also went in the past eight years. The Oilers haven’t had more than one player go, however, since 2001 in Denver when Janne Niinimaa and Doug Weight were selected.
“It was cool to get the news,”said Nugent-Hopkins, who has 25 points and leads all forwards in NHL ice-time at 21:17, just ahead of Philly’s Claude Giroux (also an addition) at 21:12. “I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun.”
“It’s going to be different playing with guys I go against…I have played with some of them at the world championship so I know some of them but a lot of these guys have been to all-star games many times. It’s going to be cool to meet some of them,” he said.
There was no all-star game in the WHL when RNH was in junior in Red Deer with the Rebels, so it’s been awhile since he was in one. “Maybe as far back as major midget (B.C.). They had a skills contest but the game was hard fought,” he said.
NHL all-star games are always run and gun. The last one was a 21-gun salute 12-9 in Ottawa. Defence is optional in these affairs; so is hitting. “We’ll be throwing the puck around and hoping to run up the score as much as possible,” said RNH.
Nugent-Hopkins didn’t have to cancel a Caribbean holiday over the all-star break with the Oilers last game Jan. 20 in Washington to end a four-game road trip. “I didn’t have anything planned (beach and sand). I was thinking of staying close to here.”
Hawks’ forwards Toews and Patrick Kane were voted on for the game along with the defence pair of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and goalie Corey Crawford, as the voters in Chicago went crazy. Buffalo’s Zemgus Girgensons led everybody in votes, piled on by folks in Latvia.
Here’s the other additions, announced by the league:
Forwards: Tyler Johnson and Steve Stamkos (Tampa), Jake Voracek, the NHL’s leading scorer and Giroux (Philly), Ryan Johansen and Nick Foligno (Columbus), Getzlaf (Anaheim), Kopitar (Kings), Rick Nash (Rangers), Tyler Seguin (Dallas), John Tavares (Islanders), Phil Kessel (Toronto), Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis), Radim Vrbata (Vancouver), Patrik Elias (Jersey), Patrice Bergeron (Boston), Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Alex Ovechkin (Washington), Bobby Ryan (Ottawa).
Defence: Oliver-Ekman Larsson (Arizona), Ryan Sutter (Minnesota), Mark Giordano (Calgary), Shea Weber (Nashville), Brent Burns (San Jose), Erik Johnson (Colorado), Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis), Drew Doughty (LA), Dustin Byfuglien (Wpg), Justin Faulk (Carolina).
Goal–Jimmy Howard (Detroit), Pekka Rinne (Nashville), Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus), Roberto Luongo (Florida), Carey Price (Montreal).]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2015/01/10/ryan-nugent-hopkins-off-to-the-all-star-game/feed/0nhlbymatty